But what if you didn't just replant your tree? What if you ate it too?

In a special holiday episode, John Kohler of Growing Your Greens suggests several options if you really want to eat your tree. Firstly, he reminds us that pine needles are actually edible, although they are pretty much just a famine food. There are, however, other options for live, edible trees to choose from. A stone pine, for example, will eventually grow up to give you pine nuts. And many people have started using specially pruned rosemary bushes as a sustainable alternative to traditional trees.

True, neither a stone pine nor a rosemary bush are likely to provide massive amounts of nutrition. But the real idea here—as John himself explains—is to always think in terms of reuse before you think of recycling. If you have gone the route of a traditional, cut tree, then do be sure to chip it and compost it. Ultimately, once you start growing in the compost you get, you'll be eating your Christmas tree too.